[DeTomaso] Just whe I thought it was safe to go back in the water...

Christopher Kimball chrisvkimball at msn.com
Sun Jul 8 11:23:45 EDT 2007


Dear Larry,

Thanks for the help.  The first thing I did was do exactly what you 
recommended; restore everything back to the way it was.

I'm going to try to see what happens when I run the car and get both 
original (aftermarket) fans going.  If one or both blow fuses, I'm going to 
try better fuse holders and higher-rated fuses.  Once I get that figured 
out, I'll add a third relay for the new fan.

I don't know what kind of circuit breakers I could use, but that sounds like 
a good idea.

My mechanic things the fan holders will work fine since the new fan is very 
light weight and thin.  I'm interested you don't like that approach.

Finally, thank you for giving me the "silver lining" comment about the 
radiator failure.  You/re right, of course.  I would much rather not be 
stuck somewhere miles from home when it failed.

Thanks again,

Chris


>From: Larry - Ohio Time Corp Web <larry at ohiotimecorp.com>
>Reply-To: larry at ohiotimecorp.com
>To: teampantera at yahoo.com, 'Christopher Kimball' <chrisvkimball at msn.com>
>CC: SOBill at aol.com, detomaso at realbig.com
>Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Just whe I thought it was safe to go back in 
>the	water...
>Date: Sun, 08 Jul 2007 07:58:36 -0700
>
>
>
>
>Hi Chris,
>
>
>
>Melting is a sign of overload. The draw of power (amps) is greater then the 
>wires or the fuse holders. If it was a dead short the fuse would just blow. 
>It is ok to have two fuses coming off of one power source as long as the 
>total draw of power will not exceed the capacity or the main feed wire. 
>There is no way for a problem on one side to cause a problem on the other 
>side. Looks like you have two problems (3 if you add the new fan).
>
>This is what I would do.
>
>1. Disconnect the wires you installed for the 3rd fan to get you back to a 
>pre problem state. Replace the fuse holders and make sure everything is 
>working right (fans switch on and off, no hot wires or fuses etc.). It is 
>way too hard to add problems and fix problems on top of existing ones.
>
>2. Look on your old fans and the new fan to see what the power draw is. If 
>you are going to put two fans together you cannot exceed the amps of the 
>two fans. So if each fan draws 20 amps, your relay, wires and fuses need to 
>be at LEAST able to carry 40 amps. The best way is to have all new wires, 
>relay and fuses for the 3rd fan. This way if you should have a problem with 
>fan one or two, fan three is all on its own.
>
>3. I like to use ckt breakers rather then fuses in critical applications.
>
>4. It sounds like the fan kit included Zip strip type mounting hardware. 
>You do not want to use them, as they will just rip up the fins in the rad 
>till they start to leak. You will need to fab in some mounting brackets.
>
>If the radiator started to leak from that little bit of you moving it 
>around, that is a good thing as it was getting ready to go. Better to 
>happen in your garage then in Death Valley.
>
>Get the fans working right then have the rad fixed.
>
>
>
>Larry (do it right the first time) - Cleveland
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>On Sat Jul 7 21:33 , "Christopher Kimball" sent:
>
>
>
>
>Thanks for the suggestions; here are a few more facts:
>
>
>
>The fans all spin freely.
>
>
>
>I have two relays, brand new, from Dakota Digital utilizing their digital
>
>temperature on/off circuit connected to a sensor I purchased from DD which
>
>is located on the block.
>
>
>
>I'm sure when I piggy-backed the third fan on one of the other fans it was
>
>too much for the fuse on that circuit.
>
>
>
>However, why would both fuses be blown (which is what I found)? Shouldn't
>
>it only have blown the fuse to which the piggy-backed fans were connected?
>
>This makes me think maybe the other fuse was already blown and I didn't 
>know
>
>it, and that's why I had an overheating problem.
>
>
>
>When I hook up one of the fans through the relay, I can feel the fuse
>
>getting hot, although the fan appears to be running fine. This pattern is
>
>the same for each of the three fans, actually.
>
>
>
>Should I start using 40 amp fuses for the fans?
>
>
>
>Thanks for your help.
>
>
>
>Sincerely,
>
>
>
>Chris
>
>
>
>
>
> >From: Mad Dog Antenucci <teampantera at yahoo.com>
>
> >To: Christopher Kimball <chrisvkimball at msn.com>
>
> >Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Just whe I thought it was safe to go back in the
>
> >water...
>
> >Date: Sat, 7 Jul 2007 17:16:23 -0700 (PDT)
>
> >
>
> >Hey Chris
>
> >
>
> > I think its one or both of the following;
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > 1. an electrical problem..original fuse box and original wiring and
>
> >connectors I bet with no relay kit?
>
> >
>
> > 2. a stock or undersized or not functioning radiator problem....2 fans
>
> >maybe..... but 3? No way.
>
> >
>
> > Not an answer but somethings for you to think about
>
> >
>
> > Dawg
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >Christopher Kimball <chrisvkimball at msn.com> wrote:
>
> > When I took my '72 to the mechanic's on Thursday to have them put in a
>
> >third
>
> >sucker fan, they informed me they were swamped and couldn't get it done 
>by
>
> >the weekend. They gave me the fan and the little plastic things that hold
>
> >it against the radiator and said I should have "no problem" installing it
>
> >myself. Like a fool, I believed them...
>
> >
>
> >I installed the fan after removing the two top bolts on the radiator so I
>
> >could move it forward slightly to allow me to slip the fan down and mount
>
> >it
>
> >to the radiator. I hooked the power wires in parallel with the driver's
>
> >side fan, which is wired with heavy-duty wire to the Dakota Digital fan
>
> >relay system I installed some time ago.
>
> >
>
> >Once it was all hooked up I took it for a test drive.
>
> >
>
> >Upon returning home, not only did I discover none of the three fans were
>
> >working, and the two fuses leading to them (30 amp) were blown (the fuse
>
> >holder for one was melted into a mass of plastic), and to top it all off,
>
> >it
>
> >appears I broke the radiator while installing the stupid fan! Coolant is
>
> >dripping from the passenger side lower front corner where it appears the
>
> >lower part of the radiator has separated from the main part.
>
> >
>
> >I am bummed.
>
> >
>
> >Does anyone have any idea why the fan relay can't support two fans? Do I
>
> >have to buy a third relay to get three fans to work?
>
> >
>
> >Sincerely,
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >Chris
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >_______________________________________________
>
> >
>
> >Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
> >
>
> >Archive Search Engine Now Available at http://www.realbig.com/detomaso/
>
> >
>
> >DeTomaso mailing list
>
> >DeTomaso at list.realbig.com
>
> >http://list.realbig.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >Mad Dawg Antenucci
>
> >Team Pantera Racing
>
> > The 1st & still the only vintage race team in open road racing
>
> >www.teampanteraracing.com
>
>
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>
>
>
>Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
>
>
>Archive Search Engine Now Available at http://www.realbig.com/detomaso/
>
>
>
>DeTomaso mailing list
>
>DeTomaso at list.realbig.com
>
>http://list.realbig.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso
>
>
>
>
>
>





More information about the DeTomaso mailing list